One of the world's largest manufacturers of telecommunications equipment, Finnish Nokia and French Alcatel-Lucent have signed memorandum of understanding on the merger, Nokia said in a press release. The total value of Nokia's purchase of Alcatel-Lucent is estimated at 15.6 billion euros, with Alcatel shareholders thus receiving a premium of 28% on the average share price over the past three months. For one Alcatel share, they will receive 0.55 shares of the combined company.

The Russian Ministry of Agriculture is against the abolition of the export duty on wheat until the end of the current agricultural year, i.e. until July 1, 2015. "Our position is conservative, we propose leaving the decision that has been made until the end of the current agricultural year, i.e. until July 1, 2015," said Minister of Agriculture Nikolai Fyodorov on Wednesday (quoted by Interfax).

Still from the film "Number 44" / KINOPOISK The Hollywood film Child 44, about a Soviet intelligence officer investigating the mass murder of children, was removed from Russian screens a day before its premiere. This was reported to Vedomosti by the press service of the Ministry of Culture. For his part, Culture Minister Vladimir Medinsky said that he was pleased with the decision of Central Partnership (CPS) to withdraw the application for a distribution certificate and highly appreciated it.

On Wednesday, April 15, the Russian Ministry of Justice added the Ozersk city socio-ecological public organization "Planet of Hopes" to the list of organizations performing the functions of a foreign agent. This was reported on the department's website.

Ninebot Inc., a Chinese manufacturer of functional analogues of Segway hoverboards, has bought the original manufacturing company, The Wall Street Journal reports. How much Ninebot paid for the American company is still unclear, but it recently raised $80 million from investment funds Xiaomi and Sequoia Capital, the newspaper writes. The gyro-stabilized scooters made by Beijing-based Ninebot are so similar to Segway's products that Segway filed a patent infringement lawsuit with the U.S.

The U.S. government said for the first time that the country will become a net energy exporter within 15 years as the shale boom boosts oil production, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in a report released April 15. Energy exports from the United States will exceed imports in 2029–2032 and in 2037–2040, the report notes. According to the agency, average daily oil production in the US in 2020 will be 11.58 million barrels, and in Russia – 10.15 million barrels.

Georgy Alburov / TASS The hearing of the Oktyabrsky District Court of Vladimir on the case of the head of the investigation department of the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) Georgy Alburov began on Tuesday with the parties' arguments. Alburov is accused of "committing a secret theft by a group of persons by prior conspiracy" with Nikita Kulachenkov of the drawing "Bad Good Man" worth 5,000 rubles, which belonged to Sergei Sotov, prosecutor Stepan Volodin opened the arguments.

Russia has moved up 9 positions and taken 41st place in the Network Readiness Rating, which is compiled annually by the World Economic Forum. Network readiness is understood as a country's ability to use the most modern information technologies.

April 15, 2015, 13:26 / Finance / Opinions / Banks How does the crisis affect the assessment of borrower quality? Not only people’s behavior is changing, but also the methods of making credit decisions Alexander Vikulin , General Director of the National Credit History Bureau Against the background of active processes taking place in the Russian economy today, increased attention of banks and other lenders is directed to decision-making systems in retail lending.

April 15, 2015, 00:13 / Business The budget of Russian basketball clubs belonging to the VTB United League increased by 15.1% to 5.9 billion rubles Clubs operate thanks to sponsors and donations Evgeniy Fedorov The basis of income for most clubs is sponsorship contracts, as follows from league documents / Alexey Filippov / RIA Novosti The total revenues of Russian basketball clubs included in the VTB United League in the 2014/15 season (from October 2014 to June 2015) increased by 15.1% to 5.9

15.04.2015 Ministry of Construction: We are creating programs to provide affordable housing loans Advertising Advertising

April 15, 2015, 21:12 / Finance Bank Intesa does not plan to curtail its business in Russia Vedomosti Bank Intesa does not plan to curtail its business in Russia, considering the Russian market to be strategic, said Antonio Fallico, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Russian subsidiary Bank Intesa, at a press conference on Wednesday in Krasnodar. At the same time, Intesa is showing interest in purchasing bank divisions that optimize the regional network in Russia.

April 15, 2015, 16:01 / Economics The Russian authorities additionally capitalized Gazprombank by 38.5 billion rubles at the expense of the National Welfare Fund Vedomosti The Russian authorities placed 38.5 billion rubles. from the National Welfare Fund (NWF) to a subordinated deposit in Gazprombank to finance infrastructure projects, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said.

April 14, 2015, 22:52 / Economics It is proposed that VEB’s participation in strategic government projects that may contradict its mandate be enshrined in law And to support it, expand its banking functionality Margarita Papchenkova Margarita Lyutova It is proposed to enshrine VEB’s participation in strategic government projects that may contradict its mandate in law / E.

April 15, 2015, 14:56 / Economy / News HSBC expects Russia's rating from S&P to be maintained, but does not rule out its downgrade by Fitch undefined Vedomosti HSBC analysts do not expect the international rating agency Standard & Poor's to take any action regarding the rating of the Russian Federation in the near future.